Hazy
by ThatBrownEyedIrishGirl
Summary: The deaths of Peter Hale and Kate Argent bring a whole new list of threats to Olivia Wright's life. Between balancing a budding romance, a troubled friend and family secrets, Olivia is going to have to give it her all - and it is not going to be easy. Sequel to Little Red. Stiles/Oc
1. Chapter 1

Hazy

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for my original characters.

And we're back! Before I begin the sequel to Little Red, I want to thank everyone again for the support of my first fic. Hearing how much you love Olivia makes me the happiest writer in the world. I never expected to gain this much support, and I'm so grateful.

For any new readers joining us, I recommend you go back and read the first fic of this series before you read this. It's called _Little Red_, as mentioned above.

But for everyone about to read this first chapter, I sincerely hope you enjoy, and can't wait to hear from you all!

(_Oh, and another small note; because of the, erm, spotty timeline of Teen Wolf, I've had to make a few changes. Only a couple of days of course.)_

* * *

><p>A firework exploded outside, lighting up the night sky with beautiful sparkling shades of blue, green and gold. The sight was breathtaking, the sound of the explosion of light making my heart beat a little bit faster in my chest.<p>

"You're about two hours too early!" Carter yelled at the sky with a laugh, grabbing a handful of the popcorn from the bowl before flopping down beside me. I grinned at his comment, before turning my attention to the little girl sat on my knee. Her hands were clamped over her ears.

I softly removed them, and gave Lucy a gentle smile,"Did it give you a fright?"

"Just the bang." The little girl explained, leaning her head against my shoulder, and I smiled, kissing the top of her head.

"Me too," I admitted. "They all sound like that. So loud that you can feel your heart thump. I can get you earmuffs if you want them."

"No," Lucy shook her head. "I don't mind."

I nodded back, and then glanced up, sharing a look with my sister. We both nodded to each other, and I gently ushered Lucy onto Carter's lap.

I went back into my house and up to my room, locating the earmuffs. I glanced at the clock, and heaved a sigh. Just under two hours until the new year.

My family and I had decided to forgo any parties this year, and spend our first New Year's Eve in Beacon Hills together. Dad had set up the barbecue, and we had laughed and spent some much needed family time together.

The fun didn't stop me from feeling guilty though.

After all, my best friend was still in the hospital, unconscious. Had been for over a week now. Lydia was stable, and her vitals were fine. All the doctors were mystified as to why she hadn't woken up yet. The only comfort we were given was the fact that nothing serious was stopping her from waking up. It would simply take time.

Since the attack, things in Beacon Hills had been quiet. Well, quieter. There had been obvious fall out after Kate's death. Chris Argent had banned Allison from seeing Scott, and every day, more and more Argents had arrived for Kate's funeral, which would be in a few days. The number of hunters now in the town had put us all on edge.

Derek still hadn't been seen. I had called him numerous times for the first few days after he became an alpha, and when he refused to answer, I refused to waste time on him. I just couldn't afford to play his supportive shoulder with everything else going on. When he came back, however, there would be serious words. After I made sure he was okay.

Realizing I had stopped mid-step on the stairs, lost in my thoughts, I began to move again. I headed outside, placing the earmuffs on the table before taking my seat again. Lucy may have said she didn't want them, but we knew the little girl would cave eventually. No kid liked loud noises, and I gave her props; the sound of fireworks made me cry until I was eight.

After that, I fell into a silence. Conversation flowed freely between my family members, and even my dad seemed to relax and let loose, which was strange to see. I eventually took out my phone and began replying to the early Happy New Year messages, and time began to fly by.

"Oh, guys, come on, the countdown!" Jen squealed excitedly, ushering Lucy up off the chair. I was surprised the little girl was still awake, though her determination to watch the fireworks was admirable.

"Put the phone down, teenager." Carter teased, taking my phone, and setting it to one side. I rolled my eyes, but stood up with him to enjoy the fireworks.

As soon as the clock struck midnight, cheers could be heard from blocks away. I laughed as Carter let out a cheer, and allowed myself to enjoy the moment.

"It's midnight!" Mom laughed, smiling at all of us,"Make your New Year's wish!"

Carter closed his eyes, and clasped his hands together dramatically,"I wish for money and pizza."

"Why wish for both?" Jen frowned, talking over the sounds of the fireworks,"Why not just wish for money, and then buy pizza?"

"Because then I'd have to spend the money." Carter replied, as though it was obvious. Jen looked as though she didn't know whether to laugh or explode.

"What else would you do with it?!"

Laughing, I turned away from my bickering siblings and moved towards my niece. She was staring up at the bright sparkling lights, and took my hand as I leaned down beside her.

"What are you wishing for, Luce?" I asked, hugging her to my side.

"I wish..." She pouted in concentration,"I wish that everyone is happy, and I get lots and lots of toys and cupcakes."

I giggled,"That's an excellent wish, Luce."

"What about you?" Lucy asked, winding her little arm around my shoulder,"What do you wish for?"

Giving my answer the same level of thought that she had, I pursed my lips, and looked up at the fireworks. Sighing softly, I looked back to Lucy, a warm, but hesitant smile on my face.

"I wish that everyone I love will be happy. I hope that they'll be safe."

Lucy grinned back at me, and I tenderly reached out and soothed her hair back from her face.

"I like that wish. But you didn't wish for cupcakes."

Laughing, I picked Lucy up and twirled her around. When we came to a stop, I placed a kiss on her nose.

"How silly of me. Guess you'll have to share your cupcakes with me."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, Lucy was asleep, the excitement catching up to her. As Jen bowed out for the night, wishing us all a happy new year, I tried to retire to bed.<p>

At quarter to one, I gave up. There were too many thoughts swirling around in my head, and I knew instantly where I wanted to be.

Throwing back the blanket, I threw on a pair of grey sweatpants, and a maroon hoodie. I slipped my feet into a comfy pair of ugg boots and wrapped a scarf around my neck, tying my red hair back into a bun and grabbing my keys.

Sneaking out without my parents knowing was easier than anticipated, though I was caught by my brother as I passed the kitchen.

"Well, well, well..." Carter smirked, closing the fridge door,"What do we have here?"

"You're still here?" I asked, earning a shrug.

"I'm crashing here tonight, but that's not the point. Is little baby sister sneaking out?"

I rolled my eyes,"It's not like I'm going to a party or anything."

"Lame."

"I'm going to the hospital," I confessed. "I didn't get a chance to go, and I can't sleep, so..."

The joking smile fell from Carter's face and he nodded in understanding,"I get it. Will they even let you see her? It's after midnight."

"Melissa will." I answered.

"It's not your night though, right?"

I paused. No, it wasn't my night.

Since the attack, Stiles, Scott, Allison and I had taken to spending a night each at the hospital. To everyone else, we were simply there in case our best friend woke up, and in truth, that was part of it. The other part was that we were there in case Lydia woke up feeling a little bit more like a wolf than a girl.

I wasn't sure on what the policy of staying overnight at a hospital, but Conrad had offered his office as a place to sleep if we needed it, and Melissa had too much of a heart to send us away.

"No, Stiles is on Lydia watch tonight." I answered.

"I see." Carter nodded, a smirk slowly forming on his face. I tensed instantly, shooting him a glare,"That's not why I'm going."

"I didn't say anything."

Rolling my eyes, I huffed and turned on my heel. I didn't need to beg him to keep my sneaking out a secret. Carter knew I had covered for him too many times in the past to risk exposing me.

I climbed into my car, and made the short enough drive to the local hospital. It was a lot quieter now that it was nearing 1 AM, and I found my way to Lydia's room easily.

As anticipated, Stiles was already there. Sat in one of the teal coloured seats, some sort of comic book in hand, he did a literal double take when he saw me, jumping to his feet.

"What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Did something happen -"

"Stiles," I placed my hands on his forearms, effectively shutting off the stream of frantic questions. "Nothing happened, everything's fine. I just... I couldn't sleep. I wanted to sit with Lydia for a while."

"Oh." Stiles nodded,"Yeah, okay, that's... non dangerous. Did I freak out a little bit?"

"A little." I gave a laugh, noting the dark circles under his eyes,"Maybe you should go to Conrad's office, get a bit of sleep. I'll wake you when I'm leaving."

"Are you sure?" Stiles asked,"This is kinda cheating on the 'one night per person' thing."

I smiled, turning him around in the direction of my uncle's office,"Go, sleep. You can owe me one. I'll only be a few minutes anyway."

Stiles nodded, and began walking down the hallway,"Scream if you need me. Actually no, don't scream. Screaming is bad."

"Stiles, go!" I laughed, and turned my back on the boy. I pushed open the door to Lydia's room, and fought back the slim bit of disappointment in my heart when I saw there was no change in the girl.

I lowered myself into the hard chair by her bed carefully. The gash from the attack had healed up, but there were still healing bruises that seemed intent on giving me as much pain as they could before leaving my skin for good.

"Hey, Lyd..." I began quietly,"Happy New Year. I bet it's not the best to start out the New Year unconscious. I bet you'd have thrown a huge party, and we'd still be dancing at this hour. Danny said he was throwing one in your honour and invited us all, but... without you, it doesn't feel right."

Reaching forward, I gently took her hand,"I don't know if you can hear me. The doctors say it's not the same as a coma, so you probably can hear me. I really want you to wake up, Lyd. We all do. School starts up again on Monday, who else am I gonna steal notes from?" I tried to joke, and then glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Woah, it's already Sunday. Apparently that didn't register until now," I laughed lightly, and then grimaced. "Ah, school is in a day. It's gonna be weird without you there, so... wake up. No? Okay. I'm rambling now, aren't I? Says you, that's no different to all the other times I've been here."

With that, I trailed off, distractedly looking around the room. The silence settled around me like a blanket, and I gently let go of Lydia's hand so that I could sit back in the seat. I tucked my legs up beneath me, resting my elbow on the handle and my head on my hand. Before I settled myself, however, I grabbed a book that Mrs. Martin had left on the bedside table.

Careful not to jostle her bookmark and lose where she was, I began to read, quickly losing track of time.

I fell asleep sometime after Chapter Three.

* * *

><p>"Olivia?" Someone was calling early the next morning. I groaned, and shielded my face from the sun peaking through the curtain by pulling the hoodie that had been draped over me up and over my face.<p>

The scent of Stiles met my nose, and I realized he must have covered me sometime during the night. A smile rose to my lips, but it was wiped away by shock when a huff came from the other person in the room.

"Olivia!"

I jumped up, stumbling less than gracefully and awkwardly getting my hands tangled in Stiles's hoodie.

"Lydia!"

The strawberry blonde arched an eyebrow, her lips pursed and her arms folded, though I could see that there was a hint of amusement sparkling in her green eyes. The previously unconscious girl was sitting up, wide awake.

"You're awake!"

"Yes, clearly. I was going to call a nurse, but I can't reach the button." To prove her point, Lydia reached out, and then quickly winced.

"Okay, okay!" I stopped her, gently pulling her arm back,"I got it."

I carefully set Stiles's hoodie down on the chair, and ran out into the now very busy hospital hallway. I spotted Melissa behind the desk, and ran up.

"She's awake!"

That was all I had to say before a team of medical personnel were swarming Lydia's room. Before the door shut completely, Melissa popped her head around it.

"Stiles is in your uncle's office." She gave me a smile,"I'll let you tell him."

"He didn't go home?"

The curly haired woman simply shook her head before disappearing inside.

Frowning, I took out my phone. It was just after eleven. Deciding to let Stiles sleep for a bit, I made a few phone calls. The first was to the Martin household. Unfortunately, it was Mr. Martin who picked up. The man was staying until Lydia was better, but from what Lydia had told me about him, and from what I myself had experienced while talking to him, I definitely was not a fan. I exchanged a few necessary words, and then thankfully hung up.

Allison was called next, and then Scott, and the two promised to be down as soon as possible. I then attempted to call Jackson. Much like Derek, the boy had been non-existent in our lives. I hadn't even seen him around town at all. As expected, he never answered, so I left him a brief message.

Finally, I called my mother. When she picked up, I was bracing myself to be yelled at. After all, not only had I snuck out, but I had stayed out all night without even telling them where I was going. Instead, however, my mother seemed to be in a great mood.

"Hey, mom."

"Hey honey, what's up?"

I paused, thoroughly confused,"Uh, Lydia's awake."

"Olivia, that's wonderful! How is she?"

"She seems to be fine. They're doing tests now, I'd imagine."

"When I woke up and you weren't in bed, I was so worried." Mom said,"But Carter said you had left for the hospital early. He complained that you had woken him up from his food coma."

I laughed along with my mother,"Speaking of, can you put him on the phone?"

"Sure. Carter!" I heard her call, and soon enough, Carter's voice met my ear.

"Yo baby sis. Lydia's awake then?"

"I owe you."

"Fast food and we'll call it even," Carter chuckled in a hushed whisper, and I grinned.

"Deal. Tell mom I don't know when I'll be home."

"Will do!"

After that, I hung up and pocketed my phone. I headed towards Conrad's office, and opened the door quietly. Stiles was laying on the couch, one leg dangling off the side, and his head hanging over the arm of the couch. I winced, doubting the position was comfortable. I felt terrible about waking him up, but the news was positive, and he wouldn't mind.

Standing back, I observed him and contemplated the best way to wake him up. The urge to jump at him and yell was near overwhelming, but I figured it was too mean. I'd save that for another time.

So, I decided to go for an awakening that was gentle. I crept over to him, and bent down so that his face was close enough to mine. I ran my hands through his hair, scratching gently against his scalp and trying not to laugh when he gave a sound that could only be described as a purr.

"Stiles," I sang. "Wakey, wakey time."

"No." The boy groaned, his eyebrows tugging downward on his forehead.

"Stiles."

"Five more minutes..."

"I'd let you if I could, but I have good news."

Slowly, the boy opened his honey brown eyes, and I half expected him to jump when he saw me there. Instead, he smiled warmly, stretching out his limbs before sitting up.

I let him fix his clothes and stretch before I stood.

"Lydia's awake."

Stiles whirled around,"She is?!"

"Yep," I smiled,"Woke up this morning."

"How is she?"

"Sassy." I replied, my smile growing along with his,"They're doing tests on her now, I think. I've already called everyone, so... I think we're good."

Stiles pumped his fist in the air, before throwing it over my shoulder and tugging me into a hug.

I laughed, and then grew more serious,"I don't think she's... I mean, she didn't show any signs, but... I was only able to talk to her for like, five seconds."

The smile fell from the youngest Stilinski's face, and I felt guilty for shattering his five minutes of happy.

"Right," He sighed, running a hand over his head,"We still have that to deal with. You said you called everyone? Did you call -"

"Scott? Yeah. Right after I called Allison. They're on the way."

"We're already here." Scott's voice announced from the doorway. Allison hurried past him and pulled me into a hug,"How is she? Was she okay?"

I answered Allison with the same words that I gave to Stiles, and the four of us returned to the hallway outside. Melissa greeted us with a smile, and answered the question that was on the tip of each of our tongues.

"Lydia is fine," Melissa beamed, and we all blew out a relieved breath. "Everything is looking good, she's healing normally, she has an appetite... it's all looking very positive. She still has a few hours of tests ahead of her though." There was a moment of silence, and then Melissa grinned,"That's my way of telling you kids to get out of here for a while. You won't be allowed into see her for hours. Go, have fun. Be teenagers."

With that, Melissa turned on her heel and walked away. After a short discussion, the four of us agreed to split up. Stiles and Scott would head to Eddie's diner, and pick up lunch, whilst Allison and I went to Lydia's and picked up some essentials for her. Then we would meet at the Beacon Hills preserve. It was a creepy place to be after dark, but during the day it was actually quite pretty.

Allison and I split from the boys, and drove in my car to Lydia's as her father had dropped her off. We went through Lydia's room and bathroom, gathering up clothes, toiletries, and the like. We weren't sure how long she would be in the hospital for, so we decided to leave her laptop where it was, but grab her phone and her charger from the desk. Just before we left, I grabbed her makeup bag, and separated the heap that would put my own makeup stash to shame. I picked out the necessary items, and put them in a smaller, separate makeup bag.

We set Lydia's duffel bag full of belongings into the trunk of my car, and then drove to the preserve, blasting music all the way. We talked a little bit, with Allison telling me that more and more Argent hunters and family friends were coming in for the funeral. They all knew what had really happened, though I was surprised to learn that Chris had told them nothing of our involvement. He had simply told them that Peter Hale had killed Kate, and he was dead.

Scott, Stiles and I were all safe. I figured it was for Allison's sake more than ours.

Stiles and Scott were already there, and I parked just behind the powder blue jeep. They had thought to bring a blanket so that we wouldn't have to sit on the mulch. The four of us sat down, and began to eat in silence, each wondering how we could break the silence that had fallen over us.

"So..." It was Scott who decided to try,"I almost got hit by a car last night."

The laughter that followed was definitely the perfect way to break any silence.

* * *

><p>We stayed out for a few hours, talking and messing around like normal teenagers. At around five, when it began to get dark, we called Melissa. She told us that Lydia would be allowed visitors around eight, which meant we had another few hours to kill.<p>

We quickly decided to go and see a movie. Despite knowing him since September, I was still amazed at how much food he could pack away.

"We just had lunch a few hours ago." I gaped as he waddled over, some of the popcorn spilling over the edge of the bucket.

"I am a growing boy!" Stiles exclaimed back, awkwardly shoving a few candy bars and other sugary snacks into my arms.

"Allison and Scott decided to get the couple's combo so they could share a large, and I figured," A blush rose to his cheeks," I figured we could do the same. For practicality."

"Of course." I nodded, fighting the blush that threatened to rise to my own face. I glanced over, and smiled as Allison leaned in and gave Scott a sweet kiss. Technically, they weren't supposed to be together at all, but there was no one we recognized amongst the medium sized crowd at the theater anyway, except for a small group of people from school who stopped to talk to us. Other than that, the coast was clear. They were safe to bask in their glory.

The movie we had chosen wasn't anything special. It was a lighthearted comedy, and I was a little bit excited to see it. Stiles and Scott nearly bowled Allison and I over in their attempts to reach the back seats of the screening room.

"Real men let the ladies sit first!" Allison called after them.

Scott and Stiles stopped mid way up the steps, and then burst out laughing.

"You snooze you lose, Argent!" Stiles shot over his shoulder, and the two boys plopped down beside each other. Allison rolled her eyes and laughed. She shoved Stiles's legs down off the back of the chair in front of him, and made her way to Scott's other side, leaving me the aisle seat.

I sat down, and began sorting the assortment of candy that Stiles had selected for us.

"How are you even gonna eat half of this?" I asked in awe. Stiles tossed me a wink, and patted his stomach,"Don't underestimate the Stilinski stomach, babe."

A snort escaped me, and I tore open a bag of chocolate Whoppers, popping one in my mouth,"Whatever you say, babe."

I sat forward, motioning my hand towards the popcorn,"You want to put the Whoppers in with the popcorn?"

As I waited for a reply, I stole a few pieces of salted popcorn.

"Put the chocolate in it?" Allison asked, leaning forward to look at us. I grinned and nodded excitedly,"The chocolate melts a bit and it's so good."

"Dude," Scott laughed, putting his hand in the air for a high five,"That's what Stiles and I do every time!"

Stiles held the popcorn bucket out for me as I emptied the Whoppers into it, a laugh resembling a witch's cackle escaping my lips, causing my friends to laugh.

"That makes you so happy, doesn't it?" Stiles commented, sliding back in his seat as the lights went down and the trailers began to play.

"It makes my soul feel complete." I remarked, earning another chuckle before everyone in the room went quiet, and sat back to enjoy the movie.

* * *

><p>Lydia looked more relieved than she ever had been when we arrived. I trailed in behind, childishly holding onto a handful of balloons I had demanded to buy.<p>

"It's a girl?" Lydia asked, with a small laugh. I pouted up at the decorative pink balloon.

"They didn't have a great selection," I shrugged. "Plus, I figured it would give your dad a heart attack upon first glance, and of course, I had to buy it then."

Lydia gave me a wickedly sly smirk,"Put it right next to my bed."

Clapping my hands excitedly, I rushed forward and placed the balloons around her bed. We all settled in the room, with Allison and I claiming the end of the bed whilst the boys chose the chairs.

"So, how do you feel?" Allison asked, earning a shrug from Lydia.

"Just tired. I'm a little sore, but the medication helps."

"So you don't feel... different?" Scott questioned hesitantly.

"Different how?" Lydia frowned.

"Like... different. Can you see better, smell better -" Scott began.

"Do you feel the need to maim?" Stiles interrupted, and I stretched my leg out to kick him in the knee.

"Yeah, I do." Lydia answered, and we all froze. The girl rolled her eyes,"The doctors say they won't let me home tomorrow. I mean, why not? I'm perfectly fine! My manicure is chipped, and there are tangles to end all tangles in my hair, but I'm fine!"

We all relaxed, and Allison reached over to squeeze Lydia's hand,"They just want you to rest."

"I can rest! In my own bed! In my own home!"

"I can solve that one." I grinned, leaning back on the bed,"Wait until midnight, and I'll bust you out. They'll never catch us alive."

With a disapproving look that only a mother could manage, Allison swatted me on the stomach,"No!"

"Rude!" I laughed, turning onto my side and holding my stomach.

"We can use my jeep as the getaway car." Stiles supplied and held up his keys. Shooting up, I pointed a finger in his direction,"Yes!"

Scott grabbed Stiles's keys from the boy, shoving them into his pocket,"No!"

"God mom and dad, you don't let us do anything!" Lydia joked, laughing freely as Scott and Allison both rolled their eyes. A phone beeped somewhere in the room, and Allison clambered off the bed, rummaging through her bag for her phone.

"It's mom," She began. "She wants to know if I have a spare key, because she and dad... are going out. Which means, empty house..."

Scott shot up, and the two of them shared a grin. I gagged dramatically,"You two are like rabbits."

"Go," Lydia laughed, waving them off.

"Have fun!" Stiles called after the two teens, and I yelped, grabbing an extra pillow and wrapping it around my ears.

"Ew, Stiles!"

"I didn't mean it like that!" The boy laughed, and then smirked,"Although..."

"Bold!" I exclaimed, whacking him with the same pillow I had used to cover my ears.

"Oh, you love it." Stiles teased, and I rolled my eyes, giving him another soft hit as redness crept up the back of my neck. I caught Lydia's eye, and she looked between the two of us with narrowed eyes.

Just when it looked like she was going to say something, the door to her room opened.

"Knock, knock," Came Mr. Martin's voice, and Stiles and I both caught Lydia rolling her eyes.

"Hey, Dad."

"How is my little... girl?" Mr. Martin trailed off, catching sight of the balloon beside her bed. I instantly began to laugh, and Lydia allowed a smile.

"Just Olivia's sense of humor."

"But it is a girl!" I exclaimed, throwing out my arms,"Congrats, Mr. Martin. Spoiler alert, you name her Lydia."

As Mr. Martin laid out all the generic questions (how are you?, do you need anything?, can you stop rolling your eyes now?) Stiles was called out by Melissa for a moment, who was wondering where Scott went. I made a move to follow, figuring that it was respectful to let father and daughter have a moment after the ordeal, but Lydia quickly clamped down on my hand, and sent me a warning look.

I wasn't allowed to leave.

After a while, Lydia quickly began to come up with ways to make her father leave, though none made him get the hint. I got up, and began to pace the room, when I stopped in front of the bathroom door. I pointed towards it, and Lydia nodded quickly.

"So, Lydia... you've been couped up in a bed for over a week. If you want a shower, there are towels in the bathroom." I informed, allowing Lydia the chance to nod quickly.

"I think I might take one now." Lydia nodded, throwing the blankets off her body and allowing her feet to touch the cold linoleum floor.

"You want help getting in the shower?" Mr. Martin asked, and I sealed my lips. The next hint thrown his way would be a firm 'get out' from me, though Lydia apparently had a response covered.

"Maybe if I was four." She glared, walking towards me and the bathroom,"And still taking bubble baths."

Mr. Martin looked downright berated as he placed his hands on his hips and heaved a sigh,"Right, I'll just wait outside then. Where it's slightly less sarcastic."

"So you're going out into a hallway where Stiles Stilinski currently is?" I snorted, patting him on the arm as he passed,"Good luck with that."

As the door shut, I looked to Lydia with a wry grin,"Do you want help getting in the shower?"

"Yes, please." Lydia winced, rubbing at her side. I directed her to sit on the edge of the bed before entering the bathroom, grabbing her duffel on the way.

I located the towels, and set one on the hook beside the shower. I then went through her bag, pulling out the essentials, and choosing soft track suit pants that Allison had picked out, and a loose t-shirt. I folded them in a neat pile, and set them atop the closed toilet lid.

I grabbed some generic brand of shampoo and conditioner, as well as some sweetly-scented shower gel, and set them along the edge of the bath at a comfortable height so that Lydia wouldn't have to bend too much.

"I'll let you switch it on, and figure out the heat settings. I'll be right outside, okay? So just call if you need anything."

"Thanks, mommy." Lydia joked, but squeezed my hand before entering the bathroom and shutting the door.

I emerged from her hospital bedroom, content that my friend was alright for the time being.

Mr. Martin was stood in the hallway, his hands still on his hips as he spoke to Melissa. I joined the two, receiving a smile from the woman as I followed their line of sight, and smiled.

"Has he been asleep long?" I asked, nodding towards Stiles. Laid out across nearly three seats, I again marveled at how he could find comfort in such odd positions. He easily flipped onto his stomach as we watched him.

The boy smiled lazily in his sleep, puckering his lips and giggling to himself. I attempted to stifle a giggle,"I wonder what he's dreaming about."

"Or who?" Mr. Martin corrected, causing my jaw to go slack, and another laugh to bubble its way to the surface.

"He's a teenage boy, I don't wanna know!" Melissa held up her hands, shaking her head quickly. A staff member passing by stopped to empty the trashcan near Stiles's head, and three of us watched in amused horror as Stiles made another kissy face, and muttered,"You're dirty."

The laughter I was trying to keep down refused to be hidden anymore, and it all came pouring out, making me double over with a case of the giggles.

Stiles shot up, my bark of laughter providing a rude awakening as he jumped, a blush rising to his cheeks when he saw us.

"Sounded like you were having a terrible dream, Stiles," I teased, wiping tears from my eyes.

"I don't want to know!" Melissa repeated, walking away. Mr. Martin followed her, and I moved towards Stiles, a childish grin on my face.

"Shut up." Stiles grumbled, nudging me playfully in the side,"Why aren't you in with Lydia?"

"She's taking a shower." I answered, and Stiles nodded.

"You want anything from the vending machine?" Stiles asked, and my eyes widened.

"You're getting more candy?"

"Duh!" Laughed Stiles,"Dad's not here, so there's no one here to stop me. Do you want to join me on my sugar rush?"

"I think I'll pass. One of us has to be responsible about our candy intake."

"More for me!" Stiles exclaimed, skipping down off the hall, causing me to laugh. That boy had more energy than Lucy.

When nearly fifteen minutes passed, I grew concerned. When twenty had passed, I grew suspicious. Either Stiles had gotten distracted, or he was up to something.

I stood up, and headed off down the same direction Stiles had disappeared. Just as I reached the corner, a huge crash made me jump halfway out of my skin. I sped around the corner, my mouth falling open in a gasp as I took in the scene.

Stiles stood there, his hands extended in front of him as he stared at the fallen vending machine. Broken bits of glass lay around the floor, and before I could speak, Stiles turned on his heel.

He paused for a second when he realized I had joined him, but he shook it off, and took my hand. Wrenching me down the hallway after him, we made it back to the nurse's station before sharing a glance, and dissolving into uncontrollable laughter.

"Did you just vandalize the hospital?" I whispered, leaning in close so that no one could hear.

"Not on purpose!" Stiles chuckled, lowering his voice to match mine,"I just wanted some candy. Oops?"

His innocent shrug and matching smile made me grin. I shook my head,"What are we going to do with you, Stiles Stilinski?"

Stiles opened his mouth, a reply on the tip of his tongue when suddenly, a scream pierced the air.

My heart leapt into my throat, stopping and speeding up all at once,"Was that...?"

"Lydia!" Stiles yelled, his voice so loud that it drowned out the startled chatter of the hospital hallway. With my hand still in his, Stiles pulled me quickly towards our friend's hospital room. We burst inside, and went straight for the bathroom. As Stiles threw the door open, he nearly slipped on the puddle of water on the tiles, and I let go of his hand, placing my own two on his waist to keep him upright.

Melissa and Mr. Martin were not far behind.

"What the hell was that?" Melissa was calling as the two of them joined us in the bathroom. Neither of answered. Neither of us could answer.

Despite the scream that had come from the room only a few seconds before, the girl that it had emitted from was nowhere to be found. Aside from the running water, there was no other sound in the room.

Lydia was gone.

As Melissa reached in to shut off the water, I looked to Stiles, my eyebrows drawing down in concern. My eyes roamed around the room, looking for any sign of... anything. I caught sight of Stiles's hand extending to find mine again, but I ignored it, moving towards the open window.

The back of the parking lot was visible, the moon bright in the sky. In the distance, I could see the silhouette of the trees that belonged to the woods.

For a reason that escaped me, I closed my eyes, and could have sworn I heard an echo of a scream at the back of my mind.

Brown eyes snapped open again, and I placed my hand against the edge of the open window.

"Lydia?"

* * *

><p><em>Happy 2015 everyone! x<br>_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hazy**

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

* * *

><p>The hospital was chaos. Security littered the grounds, speaking quickly to each other and using codes that my brain was too muddled to make sense of.<p>

I could see the shadow of Stiles as he paced up and down the adjacent hallway, talking quietly on his phone to Scott, and explaining the situation to him. I knew Scott would let Allison know, and nervously twisted my own phone in my hands, not knowing what to do with myself.

Mrs. Martin was on her way, and with nothing else to do, I unlocked my phone and began to type a text message. I kept it short, explaining that Lydia was missing, and asking the two recipients to please keep an eye out. I then chose those recipients; Derek and Jackson.

I glanced up to see Melissa looking at me. She was standing with Mr. Martin, both of them talking to Sheriff Stilinski about what had happened. Scott's mother gave me a warm smile, and nodded me towards her. I stood, folding my arms and giving her a tired smile as she patted my back.

"Naked?" The Sheriff was asking, his tone holding the same disbelief that his face held,"As in nude?"

Melissa rolled her eyes at the man,"I'm pretty sure they mean the same thing, but, yes, as far as we know, she left here clothing optional."

I shivered at the thought, my eyebrows drawing down, though I remained silent.

"All right, you checked the whole hospital, right?" The Sheriff asked next, and earned a nod from Scott's mother.

"Every last corner."

"Nothing suspicious?"

"Nothing," shrugged Melissa. "She just took off."

The Sheriff turned his gaze on me, his eyes soft but his voice firm,"She didn't mention anything to you?"

I couldn't help but feel a spark of irritation ignite inside me. Did the Sheriff _really_ think, if this had been planned by my missing best friend, that I would have let her go through with it?

"Of course not!" I exclaimed,"What would she say? _'Hey, Olivia, I'm gonna go out in the freezing cold for a late night stroll, in the nude, when I'm injured. Oh, and I'm gonna scream my lungs out first just to frighten the hell out of everyone in a fifty mile radius_' -" I broke off, shaking my head, and running a hand through my hair. A blush of shame exploded across my face. "Sorry, that was rude."

"No, no," The Sheriff shook his head, patting me a bit hesitantly on the arm - as though he expected me to bite it off. I didn't. "You're on edge. Of course you wouldn't have known anything about this."

"She_ just_ woke up, and it's way too cold for her to be out there." I breathed, pain beginning to work its way around my head behind my eyes, caused by the tension and anxiety. As I moved my hand up to rub at my sore eyes, Melissa wrapped her arm around my shoulder, tugging me close to her side. I welcomed the comfort easily. The Sheriff nodded, pressing the button on the side of his two-way radio.

"All right, let's get an APB out on a 16–year–old redhead." He glanced back at us,"Any other descriptors?"

I opened my mouth to reply, when suddenly Stiles was beside us,"5'3", green eyes, fair–skinned, and her hair is actually strawberry blonde."

I couldn't help the soft chuckle that left me as the Sheriff eyed his son,"Is that right?"

Stiles nodded slowly,"Yeah."

"Right," The Sheriff balled up the fabric of his son's jacket, and hauled him to the side,"Come here. What the hell are you still doing here?"

Despite them stepping away from us, we could still hear every word in the small but cramped hallway. In front of us, officers were examining the fallen vending machine. I doubted Stiles had any plans of admitting that he had been the one to topple it over.

"Um, providing moral support?" Stiles had answered, earning narrowed eyes from his dad.

"Uh–huh. How 'bout you provide your ass back home, where you should be." The Sheriff's tone left no room for debate. He glanced back at me,"And take Olivia home, she doesn't look ... well."

I frowned at this, glancing at Melissa who gave me a soft smile and another squeeze. Stiles looked back at me, before nodding and taking a step towards me,"Okay, I can do that too."

As I disentangled myself from Melissa, and moved towards Stiles, the Sheriff stopped us. A warm smile was tossed our way, and his kind nature shone through in his gentle eyes.

"We're gonna find her, so don't worry."

Giving the man a small smile of my own, I stepped passed Stiles, and awkwardly stopped at the fallen vending machine. I felt Stiles come up behind me, and with a quick nudge, we skirted by it quickly, and turned the corner.

"Scott is out at the Jeep, waiting for us." Stiles informed as we made our way out of the hospital. He reached around to his back, lifting up his jacket and shirt and pulling the hidden item of clothing out from underneath,"We're gonna try find her using this."

I delicately took the neatly folded hospital gown from him, inspecting the blood stain on the waist. The scent. I hadn't even thought of doing anything like this, and commended Stiles silently on the idea.

"Should I leave my car here?" I asked, and Stiles nodded.

"I can drop you back to collect it -"

"No, it's fine." I shrugged, going over to make sure my car was locked up for the night. "I can pick it up in the morning, before school."

When we reached the Jeep, Scott was sitting in the passenger seat, and looked relieved to see us approaching. I climbed into the backseat, the movement causing my head to pound. I leaned forward, massaging my temples. A migraine was the _last_ thing I needed at that moment.

"This is the one she was just wearing?" Scott asked, looking at the gown I had handed him. I raised my eyes, and nodded. The boy's eyes moved in between Stiles and I, promising us,"I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her. Not again."

I smiled at him as best I could, whereas Stiles just waved his hands.

"All right, just shove the thing in your face and let's find her." As the boy revved the engine, and switched on the headlights, he jumped in his seat,"Oh! Wow!"

I spared a glimpse towards the front of the Jeep, relieved to see that it was only Allison. She hurried to Scott's side of the car, as he rolled down the window.

"What are you doing here? Someone's gonna see us." He said, and I reflexively glanced around for any known hunters. If they knew about this, they wouldn't waste much time in joining the hunt for Lydia. Though their definitions of 'hunt' would be drastically different than ours.

"I don't care. She is our best friend, and we need to find her before they do."

"I can find her before the cops can." Scott promised, though we all realized quickly that Allison wasn't talking about the cops.

"How about before my father does?" The brunette challenged, and I groaned out loud. So they _did_ already know.

Stiles leaned over towards the window, his eyebrows in his hairline,"He _knows_?"

"Yeah." Allison confirmed,"I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs."

"Uh oh," I mumbled, already sliding to the side to make room for Allison in the back.

"Search party." Scott stated, unbuckling himself.

"It's more like a hunting party." I heard Allison say, and Scott swung open the door.

"Get in."

As Allison climbed over her boyfriend and landed beside me, I wrapped my arms around the girl tightly. As I pulled back, Allison took my hand and clutched it in her lap. Stiles advised all of us to buckle up, and pretty soon, we were on the road.

* * *

><p>We had been driving for what felt like a lifetime. Scott had stuck his head out the window, searching the air for Lydia's scent, and had the situation not been so dire, and had my head not felt as though someone had opened it up and let a jackhammer loose inside, I would have made a joke. But I didn't.<p>

The only people talking were Stiles, who was full of questions, and Allison, who wasn't so full of answers. Occasionally Scott would call out a direction.

"All right, but if she's turning, would they actually kill her?" Inquired Stiles.

"I don't know." Allison sighed,"They won't tell me anything. Okay, all they say is, '_We'll talk after Kate's funeral, when the others get here_'."

"Others?" Stiles echoed, and I moaned, letting my head roll so that it leaned on the window. The vibrations of the car jostled my head, making the pain worse, so I rolled my neck in the opposite direction.

"Don't tell me there are _more_ hunters on the way." I complained.

"I don't know, they won't tell me that yet." Allison answered patiently.

Huffing, Stiles clenched his jaw,"Okay, your family's got some_ serious_ communication issues to work on. Scott, are we going the right way?"

Scott pulled his head back into the car,"Take the next right!"

As the car swerved, a small breathy squeak left my lips. Scott whipped his head around to look at me, as did Allison, and I even caught the glance that Stiles sent through his rear view mirror. Concern was equally reflected in their eyes, and I opened my mouth to tell them I was fine before shaking my head, and remaining silent.

"You okay?" Allison asked, reaching out to touch my forehead.

"Headache." I replied, my stomach giving a lurch as we took another hard turn. I tried to focus on something to stop my stomach from turning, and vaguely noted that we were nearing the graveyard. However, we bypassed the turn towards it with another skid around a corner.

"Sorry," Stiles sheepishly apologized. He tapped his finger along the rim of the steering wheel as we were forced to stop at a red light. I had no doubt that, had there been not been a car in front of us, Stiles would have easily ran it.

"You know, you should try to get some rest." The boy suggested.

"No," I shook my head, sitting up straighter. "I'm not resting when Lydia's missing."

"We're probably gonna be driving for a while," Stiles argued. "We'll wake you up."

"But -" I began to protest. Scott, who had leaned out the window again, turned to me,"Olivia, you don't look well."

Remembering that the Sheriff had said the same thing, I pouted,"It's just a headache."

"Liv," Allison tried next. "Scott and Stiles are right. We don't know how long we'll be driving for, and what state Lydia will be in when we find her. Get some rest. If something happens, you'll be the first to know."

A part of me wanted to argue, but a bigger part was too tired. My head felt like it was on fire, and my eyes desperately ached to close. An oncoming car flashed its lights at us as we drove by, and I groaned, clamping my eyes closed. Conceding defeat, I rested my arm along the window, and curled my legs up beneath me. I peeked out through one eye at Allison.

"Wake me."

The girl nodded, and patted my knee before turning away, and I closed my eyes again.

* * *

><p><em>When I opened my eyes, I was staring up at the night sky. Something large was obscuring my view, and I could feel a mixture of hard and soft dirt under my fingertips.<em>

_Someone was breathing heavily, the sound panicked and quick. I wasn't sure if it was me, or someone else, as I couldn't look around. I could only stare straight up._

_Something flashed above me, filling the gaps that allowed the light of the moon in with darkness. I couldn't see anything at all now, and the breathing was becoming heavier._

_I heard the sound of growling coming from outside, and fought to remain silent. There was something vicious about the growl, causing my heart to pound in my chest. It definitely wasn't friendly._

_There was pain in my eye, a dull sensation that caused mild irritation. I reached up to feel the skin around my eye, and felt that it was bruised. I winced and pulled away, moving slightly in my makeshift grave. That's what it felt like anyway, and considering the dirt, I assumed that that was what it really was. A grave._

_My arm twinged as I moved it, and I cupped it with my hand, trying to alleviate the pain._

_I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting to the darkness when suddenly, the growling stopped. There was a sound of running, and then the heavy object was being lifted. The sudden influx of light caused me to shy away, though when the stars cleared, I managed to see the person who had relieved me from the infinite darkness._

_Derek._

_There was a wry smile on his face, one that seemed oddly carefree considering the circumstances. He extended his hand to me, and spoke, though it was too fuzzy for me to make out._

_I stretched my hand out, noting that it seemed much bigger, and took Derek's hand with only a bit of hesitation. My desire to leave this grave outweighed everything else._

_Just as Derek pulled me out, everything shifted. It seemed as though everything was being dragged away and turned around as I was pulled back into consciousness._

I shot up so fast in the back of the Jeep that I startled Stiles, and he swerved on the road. He made quick work of righting the Jeep again, before glancing back at me.

"Sorry," I grimaced, rubbing my eyes. "How long was I out?"

"Like, five minutes." Stiles replied,"How's your headache?"

I rubbed my eyes, relieved to find that the pain had dwindled down into a soft throbbing. The nausea that had taken hold of my stomach was gone.

"Better."

"Did you have a bad dream?" Allison asked me,"You shot up pretty fast."

"I don't know. Maybe?" I shook my head, almost as though the action would cause the jumbled up images in my head to align themselves. "I was - I was looking up, and... I could see bits of the sky, but, there was something _big_ blocking my view. My eye hurt, and my arm, and I was panicking. It was like I was stuck, I couldn't get out of where I was. It was like I was caged in. Pretty sure it was a grave."

"Do you always have dreams like that?" Stiles asked, raising a concerned eyebrow.

"Sometimes," I shrugged,"Dreams are often the result of your subconscious referencing your life, so that probably explains why it sounded like there was a wolf near."

"Sorry," Scott chuckled sheepishly, and I gave him a smile.

"It's okay. Most of the time they're friendly... sometimes not so."

Another image hit me, and I jumped up,"Oh! And, Derek was there!"

I caught Stiles rolling his eyes, and rolled my own,"He was standing over the hole I was stuck in. He said something, but I couldn't hear it. It was all... jumbled."

"Well, that's a coincidence," Scott mumbled. "Because I'm pretty sure the scent is leading us to the Hale house."

* * *

><p>I drew my arms around my body as we walked up the slope that lead towards the Hale house. None of us had been back since the night Peter and Kate had died, and neither of us had ever really wanted to return.<p>

I could vividly picture the events of the night as we approached. Where Kate had held a gun to Scott, where Derek had killed Peter. It was like watching it all play out again in my head, and I shivered at the thought.

"She came here?" Stiles double-checked,"You sure?"

Scott shrugged,"Yeah, this is where the scent leads."

"All right, but has Lydia ever been here?" Stiles questioned next.

"Not with me." Allison shook my head, and I agreed.

"Same. I've only ever been here alone, or with you guys, so..." I trailed off, staring at the mangled house.

"Maybe she came here on instinct, like she was looking for Derek." Suggested Allison, causing us all to become slightly unsettled.

"You mean, looking for an Alpha." Scott added, and I bit my lip, taking another step closer to the house.

"Wolves need a pack, right?" Allison spoke.

"Not all of them." Scott replied.

"But would she have been drawn to an Alpha? Is it an instinct to be part of a pack?"

"Yeah, we're – we're stronger in packs."

Allison nodded at her boyfriend,"Like strength in numbers."

"No, like – like, literally stronger, faster, better in every way." The boy elaborated.

I glanced over my shoulder at him,"So werewolves have symbiotic relationships then?" Scott paused, and I explained,"You benefit from being with each other."

"Pretty much, yeah." He nodded.

"That the same for an Alpha?" Allison questioned next.

"Yeah, it'll make Derek stronger too."

"I assume that was why Peter was so hellbent on having a pack. It would have made him stronger," I said, kicking at a small pile of leaves. "I mean, I doubt it was for the family aspect. I don't think he was particularly jonesing to sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya."

That brought a smile to Scott's face, and I turned to look at Stiles, who had remained quiet for longer than usual. He was bent down near a tree, carefully sifting through the leaves. I walked towards him, and bent down beside him.

"Hey, look at this." He said,"You see this? I think it's a tripwire."

Allison came to kneel at his other side, as I began searching for some kind of way to disable the thin, clear strip of wire that had been hidden underneath the mulch. As I searched, I caught sight of Stiles moving in my peripheral. I turned to stop him from touching it, only to hear shuffling and stumbling behind me.

I stood up, clamping my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing at the sight. Scott, dangling upside down from a tree, had been caught around the ankle, and both Stiles and Allison were none the wiser. He rolled his eyes.

"Stiles?"

Attention caught, Stiles turned,"Yeah, buddy? Oh."

As both he and Allison stood, I could no longer suppress my giggle. This, in turn, caused Allison to laugh too.

"Next time you see a tripwire," Scott huffed. "_Don't_ trip it."

Stiles cracked a smile,"Yeah, noted."

I, still laughing, reached into my pocket and took out my phone. Aiming it towards him, I grinned,"Smile for the camera."

Scott flipped me off with a huge grin, and I caught a picture,"Perfect!"

"You weren't _actually_ supposed to take it!" Scott exclaimed, though he couldn't help but laugh as I victoriously waved the phone in front of him.

The three of us then headed over to help the unfortunate boy down, only for him to hold out his hand, stopping us. He tilted his head to the side, his brows pulling downward.

"Wait," He spoke, glancing back at us. "Someone's coming."

There was a pause before Scott was pointing towards the cover of the trees,"Hide, go!"

I wasn't sure which one of us moved first. Stiles, maybe, as he reached out for myself and Allison. I glanced up towards the house. We still weren't sure whether or not Lydia was inside, and I paused. Scott was whispering for me to go, and I made a decision. If Lydia was inside, the first person she was going to see was a friend, and not whoever was coming our way.

I covered the distance between Scott and the Hale house quickly and quietly, managing to duck behind the edge of the porch just as the newcomers emerged from the trees.

Chris Argent.

And, by the looks of it, two armed men. Two armed hunters.

I watched Chris bend down to talk to Scott, and heard my friend make light comments in regards to the tripwire. I risked a glance over to where Allison and Stiles had disappeared too, and saw both of them motioning for me to stay where I was.

Rolling my eyes, I turned away from them and silently skirted the side of the house. The two hunters were walking around, scouting out the place for ... well, anyone, I guessed.

I had decided to see if there was a back entrance to the house, but as I edged around the corner, I heard footsteps. One of the hunters, a man I had never seen before, appeared, and I quickly jumped back.

The heel of my shoe caught on a fallen branch, and snapped it. The noise must have alerted the man to my presence, as the footsteps picked up again, heading in my direction.

I glanced around for somewhere to hide, and realized my only hope of cover was the window slightly above me. The glass had been broken out, and I gripped the edge of the ledge, hurriedly climbing through it, and landing with a soft thud on the wooden floor of the Hale house's first floor.

I flattened my body against the wall as the beam from a flashlight soaked into the room, bouncing off the walls. A name was called, one I couldn't make out over the sound of my own heartbeat, and a gruff voice answered.

"Thought I heard somethin'," The unfamiliar hunter called. "Must have been a damn squirrel or somethin'."

The flashlight disappeared, and I waited until the footsteps disappeared completely until I let out the breath I had been holding.

"Yeah, that's me," I whispered, pulling myself up and wiping the dust and dirt off my jeans. "An innocent little squirrel."

Maneuvering myself around the darkness of the house was easier than expected. The eeriness of the house settled around me, making me jump at every sound. Knowing that so many people had died here, suffering until the very end, made me uncomfortable. I didn't hold much belief in ghosts, but hey, werewolves existed, didn't they? It wasn't so hard to believe that maybe, just maybe, these walls contained the lost souls of the Hale family.

It felt very much as though I was being watched, but I pushed it away. It was just a feeling. I could deal with that. Though, I still avoided the living room at all costs, not wanting to see the dried blood on the floor, leftover from when Peter savagely tore out Kate's throat. I would have almost preferred a ghost over seeing that crime scene.

With a grimace, I reached up and massaged my own throat. Yes, a ghost would have definitely been better.

"Lydia?" I called out in a quick mutter. "You in here?"

As expected, only silence greeted me. Approaching the staircase, I tested the sturdiness of the railing. I had never ventured to the second floor before, but I wanted to cover as much ground as I could. I held my breath as I tested the first step, and the second, waiting for a creak that thankfully never came.

I tip-toed the rest of the way up, not spending too much time. Every closed door was opened, with a soft 'Lydia' being called into every room. Every door was re-closed with a sigh.

The last door led me to a study of sorts, and as expected, Lydia was nowhere to be found. I sighed, turning on my heel to leave, when something caught my eye. A picture.

I picked it up off the floor, brushing my fingertips along the singed edges. In it, a younger Derek was actually smiling. I could see Peter behind him, the sly grin that had always creeped me out on his face, but appearing softer. More playful.

There was a woman beside Peter, who I remembered to be Derek's mother. The picture that Conrad had showed me, the same one he had showed Scott and Stiles on the night they had broken in, confirmed the identity of the woman.

On Derek's right side, stood a girl. Younger than him, definitely. A sister maybe? Brown hair, and brown eyes, her hair back in a ponytail, and a scowl on her face.

I flipped the image over, reading the words that had been scrawled neatly. The date had been singed off, but the names hadn't. Talia, Derek, Peter and Cora.

I turned it back, and smiled softly, before gently placing it on the desk. Feeling a pang of sadness settle in my chest, I looked around the burned and dilapidated house with fresh eyes.

The walls may have contained unimaginable pain, but it also held happy memories. Family gatherings, childhood dreams. This house had once been a home. A home to a loving family.

I wasn't sure how long I stood there, looking around, completely lost in my thoughts. I didn't even jump when I heard the door swing open downstairs, or when Stiles's voice called my name.

I slowly exited the study, closing the door gently. Folding my arms, suddenly feeling cold, I made my way to the top of the stairs. Stiles and Scott had stepped inside, whilst Allison hovered by the doorway.

"Lydia's not here." I announced, making my descent. "No one is."

Before any of them could speak, I smiled at Scott,"How'd you get down?"

The boy grinned back, holding up his hand so that I could see his claws.

My smile brightened, and I nodded appreciatively,"Nice."

It was Allison who spoke next, her eyes moving everywhere except for the direction of the living room.

"So, if she isn't here... where is she?"

Scott's mouth opened and closed,"I-I don't know. Her scent ended here."

I leaned against the railing, my arms still folded. As much as I wanted to stay out until Lydia was found, I knew it wasn't logical.

"We can't stay out much longer, our parents will freak." Sighing, I pushed my body away from the stairs, heading for the door. "I say we do one last quick drive around the town, and then pack it in for the night. It's not like no one is looking for her - the whole town is."

I watched my friends consider my suggestion. Stiles nodded, and joined me at the open door.

"One last search it is."

* * *

><p>My sleep that night was fractured, filled with distorted images and muddled words.<p>

I woke up a split second before my alarm clock began to ring, and wasted no time in getting up. I dressed quickly, in dark jeans and a plaid shirt. I pulled a beanie over my red curls, and slipped on a pair of flat ankle boots.

Jen was going to pick me up while she was dropping Lucy to school, so that I could be dropped off at the hospital to pick up my car.

I completely skipped breakfast, deciding to pick something up on the way, and grabbed up my bag, barely saying two words to my parents before I was out the door, and in Jen's car.

I shared casual conversation with my sister, and did my best to keep with my Lucy's little excited babbles. By the time we reached the hospital, the odd haze that had settled around me was gone, and my smile when I said goodbye was genuine at last.

On the short walk to where I had parked my car, I called Allison, asking if she wanted a lift to school. Allison told me that she wouldn't be in until after lunch, as she was helping to add the final details to Kate's funeral.

Then, Allison surprised me. My dear friend asked if I would go to the funeral with her. She explained that, because she and Chris were the only ones to know that I was technically involved, she had easily gotten my name onto the guest list. She added that she had attempted to add Stiles too, though her father had put his foot down. Stiles rarely went anywhere without Scott, after all.

Of course, I said yes. Funerals weren't my thing, it was true. In fact, I rarely went to a family member's funeral. It was just a simple fact that I found them uncomfortable. But, Allison needed me there for support, she had said so herself, so I could grin and bear it. Well, not grin. That would just be bad taste.

Once I reached my car and had said goodbye to Allison, I grimaced towards the hospital, figuring that I had spent far enough time in the place to last a lifetime. I threw my bag into the backseat of my car, relaxing as soon as I slid into the driver's seat.

Driving allowed me to feel as though I had control over something again, and I was almost disappointed when I reached the school. If I could have just continued to drive all day, I would have.

I found a parking space, and caught up with Scott and Stiles outside. The two boys seemed to be deep in conversation, and judging by the tense set of their shoulders, it wasn't good.

I groaned softly and made my way over,"Okay, what's the what?"

And then, Stiles told me all about how his father had responded to a 911 call from the graveyard. Isaac Lahey had been attacked by something, getting knocked into the open grave meant for Kate Argent. When he had gotten out, another grave had been dug up by whatever had attacked him. The next part of the story made me blanch.

"The thing took a liver from a dead body?" Gagging, I pressed a hand against my mouth. "What it would want with a - you know what, _no_. Don't answer. I don't want to know."

"It ran, after that." Stiles continued,"Isaac didn't see anything."

"Ugh, I can't imagine it." I commented, and Scott turned to me, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, you can." He took a step closer, lowering his voice. "You had that dream last night. If you ask me, it sounds _exactly_ like what Isaac experienced."

Stiles lowered his voice next,"Wait, you think you_ saw_ what happened to Isaac?"

"Wait, hold up!" I waved my hands in front of their faces,"_I_ don't think anything!"

"But you said you heard growling, right? So that means a werewolf. You dreamed that you were buried alive basically." Scott argued, and I pouted.

"Don't we have a liver stealing werewolf to worry about?" I reached out and poked Scott's chest,"How about we focus on that instead, hm?"

"Fine, we'll do what the psychic wants." Grinned Scott, reaching up to pat me on the head.

I scowled, raising my voice,"I am not a -"

Realizing that some people had turned to look, I trailed off. Scott began to chuckle, and I reached out, flicking him on the forehead.

I turned back to tell Stiles to continue on with his story, only to gasp as Scott's fingers flicked me on the nose. I let out a squeal of indignation, and Scott nearly doubled over laughing.

"Yeah, okay, you're not psychic - otherwise you would have seen that coming."

Despite myself, I began to laugh, shoving him lightly.

"I_ really_ hate you."

Stiles laughed,"Children, behave. There are normal people around. Anyway, I think we should talk to Isaac about what happened."

"He said he didn't see anything." I shrugged.

"Could have been lying." Was the boy's response.

Scott raised his hand,"Uh, as for this unknown werewolf... what if its not really unknown."

I sighed, rolling my neck,"You think it could be Lydia."

"If she _has_ turned," Scott began quickly, explaining. "Then she has no control over herself."

"But why would she just take the liver?" I asked. "I mean, if she was going to - to eat someone, would she really be so picky? Going solely for the liver, that's...that's a decision."

"Olivia's right, it's too planned." Stiles agreed,"If it's as bad as you say it is, and as I've seen it, then not even Lydia would be able to do such a clean job of it. Besides, around the time that this happened, you found her scent at Derek's place."

Silence fell around us, and then Stiles perked up,"Wait, hold on, if we're gonna find Lydia, then we need to think like a new werewolf." He pointed to Scott,"And you, you're the test case for this, so we should be going over what happened to you."

Scott arched an eyebrow,"What do you mean?"

"I mean like what was going through your mind when you were turning, you know? What were you drawn to?" Stiles elaborated.

"What was your anchor?" I added.

Scott smiled,"Allison."

Nodding, Stiles rolled his eyes slightly,"Okay, nothing else? Seriously?"

"Nothing else mattered." The lovestruck boy shrugged, earning a smile from me. "But, no, that's good, though, right? 'Cause the night that Lydia was bit, she was with you."

"No, she _came_ with me." Stiles corrected,"She got bit when she went looking for _Jackson_."

Scott frowned in confusion,"Wait, so where were _you_ at?"

Stiles's eyes flashed towards me, and I sucked in a breath, averting my eyes towards the ground. I glanced up through my eyelashes, and noticed the blush spreading across Stiles's pale face.

"Around." Stiles answered vaguely.

"Arou-" Scott began to question, and I was thankful when a familiar silver Porsche pulled up.

"Oh hey, something wicked this way comes." I interjected, scowling as Jackson climbed out of his car, five feet and nine inches of utter narcissism.

As we watched him turn to say something more than likely offensive to the poor homeless man that every student was avoiding, I snarled,"Do you guys know that he didn't visit Lydia once, while she was in the hospital? And I texted him, telling him that she had gone missing, but did he text back? Nope. Not even a '_K_.'..."

"Are you really all that surprised?" Scoffed Scott, and I sighed. It was a sad truth that I was, in fact, a little bit surprised. I knew there was a heart in there somewhere, buried under the flashy car and asshole personality, and I had expected for him to at least somewhat lay off after everything that had happened.

As Jackson brushed passed us, I clenched my fists,"Okay, I've held out on punching that guy all this time, can I please do it already?"

I made a move towards him, only to have Stiles pull me back. Scott set his hand on my shoulder and gave me a squeeze.

"No, you might get expelled," Scott shrugged. "We're just looking out for you."

I considered it,"Can I hit him after school hours?"

Stiles grinned down at me,"Only if we get front row seats."

With a laugh, I turned towards the school just as the bell rang. We made our way to class, and took our seats, ready to start the morning with a round of boring classes.

* * *

><p>Later on in the day, Stiles and Scott told me all about how they had approached Jackson, only to have the boy respond with his usual cocky attitude.<p>

Thoroughly provoked by this, the boys had to again stop me from tracking him down.

As a result, I entered Chemistry class already willing to bite someone's head off. Perhaps I should have remembered who my teacher was, and how he had the ability to piss off even the most docile person. I grinned as I sat down. _Docile_.

Definitely something that I had never been.

As per usual, Mr. Harris greeted us with his usual bitterness. He really held no emotion as he rattled off the same message that I every teacher had to read. The message that told everyone that Lydia had gone missing, and if anyone saw her, they were to contact so and so.

Mr. Harris then announced that we were to have a pop quiz. He said it was 'to see how much our tiny, disappointing brains could actually retain'. Rolling my eyes, I nearly snapped the test sheet out of his hands, scrawling my name messily on the top.

I could still hear Scott and Stiles talking about what Jackson had said, and rather guiltily blocked them out as I began my quiz. The last thing I needed, in this mood, was to hear more about the arrogant, spoiled brat that was Jackson Whittemore.

Especially when the same boy sat only a few rows behind me, his face just begging to have something thrown at it.

"This is a pop quiz, Mr. Stilinski." Mr. Harris's insufferable voice drawled from the front of the class,"If I hear your voice again, I may be tempted to give you detention for the rest of your high school career."

Stiles gaped,"Can you do that?"

"Well, there it is again. Your voice. Triggering the only impulse I've ever had to strike a student _repeatedly and violently._ I'll see you at 3:00 for detention."

At this, I threw my pen down angrily. It bounced off the desk, and rolled onto the floor, causing a thud. Rage flared up inside me.

"Did you just - he _actually_ just -" I let out a laugh, before composing myself. "Mr. Harris, that's a threat. You just vocally expressed your desire to hit a teenage boy, in a class full of witnesses. What in your brain tells you that _that's_ okay?"

"Olivia -" Scott began.

"No, let the man talk. I wanna hear all about how his mother didn't hug him enough as a child. Or maybe about how some girlfriend left him. There has to be some reason as to why you're such an insufferable, horrible excuse for a -"

"Olivia, really, it's okay." Stiles had stood up by this time, coming over to set his hand on my arm. He bent down and whispered,"Don't get yourself into trouble."

"Ms. Wright, do you _wish_ to join Mr. Stilinski in detention?" Mr. Harris asked, his voice tight. I could see that his face had gone red, from anger or embarrassment I wasn't sure. I did know that he wasn't used to the students fighting back.

I laughed again, shrugging Stiles off,"Sure. That's actually _perfectly fine_ with me, because while I'm in the Principal's office explaining why you gave me detention, I can tell him all about your desire to _physically assault_ a minor. And then when I'm done there, I'll tell the _Sheriff_. How much you wanna bet that you'll still have a job after that?"

Stiles's hand made its way to my knee, and he squeezed my leg. "She doesn't want a detention."

"She should want to remove herself from my classroom." Mr. Harris grumbled, and I rolled my eyes, eagerly grabbing my bag.

"_She_ has a name, and let's hope that _she_ doesn't have a little chat with the principal." I smiled sweetly, pushing open the classroom door open.

"Mr. Stilinski, I would advise you to sit down and finish your quiz."

"I'll finish it in detention," I heard Stiles reply, and five seconds later, Stiles appeared in the hallway. It was silent for a few moments until the door opened, and Scott joined us.

"Scotty, you didn't have to -" I began, and the boy grinned at me.

"I hate pop quizzes anyway." He winked,"Besides, I ... did _have_ to."

The boy raised his hand, displaying his claws,"They started coming out as soon as you got angry." He explained. "I could _feel_ it, coming off you. It kinda set off the wolf in me, I think."

Sighing, I reached out and grasped Scott's hands, watching as the claws slowly began to retract as I calmed down,"Sorry, Scotty."

"It's okay," Scott chuckled. "That was awesome!"

Rolling my eyes, I glanced over at Stiles to see that his lips had tugged upwards. As the rage calmed down, I was left with embarrassment. Of course, I would still go back and yell at that intolerable swine, but now, standing in the empty hallway, I was feeling a bit flushed.

"What are _you_ smilin' at?" I grumbled, causing Stiles to giggle to himself.

"You were really pissed back there."

This time, I definitely flushed,"Yeah well, I don't like people who think they can get away with saying or doing that stuff. I especially don't like when it's aimed at my friends."

Now Scott was full on grinning, and I went bright red, stomping away from them.

"Shut up!"

I heard them begin to laugh behind them, before they appeared at either side of me. I beamed at them both, reaching up and wrapping one arm around Scott, and the other around Stiles.

"So, I've never actually been asked to leave a class before." I admitted,"What do we do now?"

* * *

><p><strong>And voila, here is chapter 2. I hope you all liked it, and I look forward to hearing your feedback :)<strong>

**- Megan**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hazy**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing**.**

* * *

><p>With wasted class time now at our disposal, the three of quickly got down to the current order of business.<p>

We discussed different ways that Scott and Stiles could be at Kate's funeral whilst never actually going anywhere near the Argent hunters, and the different places in the woods where we would search for Lydia once the burial was over.

I pointed out that they could just search themselves while the funeral was underway, as the majority of the hunters would be at the event, but Scott was adamant that he would be there for Allison.

I shrugged, assuring myself mentally that we were not the only ones searching for her. The entirety of Beacon Hills knew of Lydia's disappearance, and the Sheriff's department were on it. Stiles added that every officer that wasn't assigned to the crowd control detail were on Lydia's case.

Talking about the Beacon Hills police department brought us all the way back to Isaac Lahey, and what Stiles's father had been called out to.

"We should _definitely_ talk to him." Scott decided.

Stiles nodded slowly,"Yeah, get his version of the events. See if they match up to Olivia's dream."

I groaned,"If one of you makes a psychic joke, I swear to -"

"I wasn't going to!" Stiles exclaimed, a teasing grin on his face,"Though it is cool that we have a clairvoyant on our team."

"I need new friends." I stated, shaking my head. Ignoring the shared amusement between Stiles and Scott, I leaned forward,"I think I should be the one to talk to Isaac."

"Why?" Scott asked, a frown on his features.

"He'll be more likely to open up to me."

Stiles motioned between himself and Scott,"He's on our lacrosse team."

"And how many times have you actually_ talked_ to the guy?" I countered,"He doesn't really know you guys all that well. Besides, you can be ..."

Stiles narrowed his eyes,"I can be what?"

A smirk touched my lips, and I purposefully never answered Stiles's question.

"We have Biology next class. I'm still Isaac's lab partner." I glanced between them, nodding my head softly. "He'll talk to me."

Once the bell rang, we made our way inside and to Biology class.

I took my seat as usual, sending a small smile towards Isaac in greeting. He seemed no different than usual, his body turned more towards the window than the people of the class. However, as I took my seat, one of my books slid off the desk, and Isaac reached out to grab it before it could fall.

I thanked him, watching him closely as he set the book back on top of my other ones, and then brought his free hand to his forearm, rubbing it softly.

"Hurt your arm?" I asked casually, flipping through the pages of my notebook.

"Uh, yeah."

"Have you had it looked at?"

"It doesn't hurt that much." Isaac shrugged, but the way his lips thinned as he moved his arm proved that he was lying. I reached out, and pulled back then as the class were informed that we had a substitute teacher that day.

As the sub settled the class down, I turned back to Isaac, motioning towards his arm,"You mind if I...? My mom's a nurse."

Isaac hesitated before rolling up his t-shirt sleeve to his elbow. I smiled gently, the urge to handle him the same way I handled an injured Lucy washing over me.

As I examined his wrist, determining that nothing was broken but advising him to acquire ice and pain killers.

"Did that happen last night too?" I asked, glancing up quickly at his bruised eye.

"Yeah." Isaac answered, and I had to bite down on my tongue to keep from pointing out that the bruising around his eye, and the bruising around his forearm were at different stages of healing.

Meaning the black eye came before the attack last night.

"You know about last night?" Isaac asked, and I was forced to file that information away for a later date. I looked towards the boys, and gave Isaac a relaxed smile.

"Stiles is a big fan of spying on his father." I drawled,"But don't worry, I don't think anyone else knows. And your secret is safe with me, I know how shaken up it can make you. Being involved in something like that. The absolute_ last_ thing you want is everyone staring, right?"

Isaac nodded, giving me a small smile. Taking this as a positive, I continued,"I mean, sometimes, when everyone's whispering, you'd almost prefer the wolf."

Laughing easily, I repeated,"Almost."

"The wolf doesn't want gossip material." Isaac joked, and I let out another laugh.

"And if it does, then that's a whole other situation."

As Isaac chuckled, I beamed over at Stiles and Scott, who were both smiling and shaking their heads at me. Happy that I had been right, I continued on.

"It's weird though, isn't it? Seeing it up close."

"I didn't." Isaac shrugged,"I just heard it. I work at the graveyard -"

"Don't you get creeped out?"

"I actually like the quiet." The boy said wistfully,"I'm pretty sure I only heard it because of the quiet. And the strange thing is, it never attacked me. That's what it does, right? It ... eats people. But it just knocked my excavator over. I fell into the grave I'd been digging, and the excavator trapped me in it."

I remembered this. I remembered the anxiety, and the claustrophobia, and almost felt bad about making Isaac talk about it. I had dreamed it, but he had lived it. Less than 24 hours before.

Seeing that he had gotten lost in his thoughts, I waited for a moment before shifting in my seat, silently reminding him that I was there, and I was listening.

"I could hear it... clawing. And other stuff. I don't know how long I was down there. I landed on my arm, and that's why..." He motioned towards his bruises,"Then it just went quiet? The growling stopped. And the excavator was moving. Being lifted. Those are too heavy to lift by yourself, but when I looked up -"

As though he was realizing that he had said too much, Isaac clamped his mouth shut. Leaning forward, I softly prodded his arm.

"What did you see?"

It took a few moments, but finally, Isaac sighed. "Some guy was standing there. He pulled me out. I was going to tell the police about him, but he... he was there. When I was talking to the Sheriff, he was standing there. Watching. And then he disappeared. Just like he did when he pulled me out."

Though my suspicions were practically screaming, I questioned,"Well, what did he look like?"

"Pale. Blue eyes. Tall? I think. Black -"

"Hair, black leather jacket, facial hair, a smirk that says '_I'm laughing at something you're doing because I know something you don't, but I'm not going to tell you what, let you do what you're doing, and then tease you for it later_'?" I finished, and Isaac looked surprised.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

Flashing Isaac a grin, I chirped,"Lucky guess."

"Hey! You two in the back." The substitute called, though not rudely. "I don't mind you helping each other, but could you keep it to a whisper?"

Sending the man an apologetic smile, I made a show of locking my lips and throwing away the key.

Once the substitute turned his attention away from me, my eyes found Scott and Stiles. Scott was whispering what Isaac had told me to Stiles, and when he was all caught up, the two of them met my eyes.

Sharing a concerned look with them, I tossed another small smile to Isaac before burying my head into my work.

* * *

><p>"I can talk to him!"<p>

"No!"

I huffed, quickening my pace to catch up with Stiles. Scott was silent as we walked, and I grabbed onto Stiles's arm, pulling him around to face me.

"He was there. He would have seen the wolf. He would have known if it was Lydia! He has the answers we're looking for, so why the hell don't you two see that going to him is the smart decision here?"

Jaw clenching, Stiles twisted his arm so that he was holding mine. Dragging me around the corner, Scott trailing behind, he lowered his voice.

"Derek killed Peter -"

Huffing again, I pulled my arm from his,"Yes, I was there. Front row seats, remember?"

"He's the Alpha now because of it." Stiles continued, ignoring my interjection.

"But he's also still Derek Hale!" I exclaimed,"The same Derek that told us to run and leave him there that night at the hospital. He fought Peter, and we survived because of it. And _you_," I poked Stiles in the chest,"Can't deny that without him there, we wouldn't have stood much of a chance. And I know you guys don't see him the way I do -"

"And what way do you see him?" Stiles asked, challenging. Flattening my hand against his chest, I softened my eyes, pleading for him to see it from my point of view.

"As a_ friend_." I removed my hand from Stiles's chest and looked at Scott. I knew this statement would trouble Scott too, as I knew that Scott was just as concerned about my friendship with the remaining Hale. To his credit, Scott was a lot less vocal about his hesitance.

"Like it or not, Derek is my friend. Sometimes he doesn't make the best decisions, sure, but he's not a bad guy. He saved Isaac last night. Which means that he was there to see what attacked him. If you two are right, if Lydia has... if she turned, then Derek is the only one who can confirm it or deny it. So I'm going to talk to him. For Lydia."

Without waiting for either boy to speak, I turned on my heel and walked away.

* * *

><p>Not five seconds later, I received a message from Allison, letting me know that she had come into school. I headed towards her locker, sidling up beside her and leaning against the locker beside hers.<p>

"Hey, friend."

Allison looked at me with a smile,"Hey. You look... tense."

Rolling my neck, I let out a groan but didn't speak.

"You're still coming to the funeral, right?" Though her question was asked casually, I noticed the slight look of fear in her eyes. Like she was afraid I'd say no. Afraid that I was leaving her to fend for herself at the funeral.

In order to reassure her, I gave her a smile,"Of course. Though I'm still surprised your father allowed it."

"Same here," Allison laughed. "Though I did put him in a tough spot. I asked mom first, and dad promised not to tell anyone about ... everything, so he couldn't come up with any reason as to why you couldn't come. Mom would have asked questions, because Dad had never had a problem with you before, so he just agreed and left it at that."

"Nice." I nodded appreciatively.

"I just hope he doesn't try to corner you the way he did to Scott."

"Ah, don't worry if he does." I shrugged easily,"I can handle your father."

"Olivia, hey! Come here!" I heard the voice call from down the busy hallway. Danny stood at the end of the hallway, with a very sheepish, very jittery looking Jackson.

As soon as I excused myself from Allison, and bypassed the two whispering girls whose names I didn't care to know, Jackson caught my eye. I raised an eyebrow, but he just shook his head to himself, muttered something to Danny, and walked away.

Reaching Danny, I slid my arm through his,"What's up with Oliver Queen?"

"Who?"

"Oliver Queen." I repeated,"Green Arrow? Rich guy turned vigilante? Except, Jackson's no vigilante. He's just rich. And moody. My reference makes no sense now that I think about it, though he does kinda look like Roy Harper -"

"Olivia!" Chuckled Danny,"You're rambling."

"Right, sorry." I laughed,"What's up with him?"

"I don't know. Aside from the usual Jackson mood swings, he had to leave class after you nearly threw Mr. Harris out the window -"

"I should have." I muttered, grumpy.

"He had a nose bleed." Danny continued,"Pretty heavy too. I guess it spooked him. Hell, it would spook me too. His blood was black."

"Wait, what?" I exclaimed.

"Or maybe it was just a really dark red. It looked black, I swear."

I glanced down to where Jackson had disappeared to, my forehead furrowing,"Did anyone go check on him?"

"I was going to, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Harris's head was about to explode. But on the bright side, no one is ever going to piss you off ever again."

I groaned, leaning my head against Danny's arm,"I'm never going to live that one down, am I?"

"Never ever." 

* * *

><p>The rest of the day flew by. Classes just seemed to blend together. Maybe it was because my mind was focused on forming my plan.<p>

Danny sat with us at lunch, meaning that there was absolutely no werewolf talk at all. Which, was good for me. It meant that none of my friends had the chance to talk me out of speaking to Derek. It also meant that keeping my plan a secret was a whole lot easier.

During lunch, I did detach from the ideas swirling around my brain long enough to note that Allison's eyes seemed to be a little bit glossy. I glanced at Scott, who assured me with a soft smile that she was okay. Whatever had upset her, Scott had dealt with.

As soon as the last bell rang, I was gone. Climbing into my car, I took a detour from my usual route home, because I didn't want to hit the 'traffic'.

This detour led me to the edge of the woods, and _somehow_, I ended up at the Hale house. A _total_ coincidence.

That was my story anyway, and I was sticking to it if any of my friends ever found out.

Hugging my coat closer to my body, I shot a paranoid glance over my shoulder at the woods behind me as I walked up the porch steps.

Knocking hesitantly on the door, I pushed it open.

"Derek?" I called. "I know you're around somewhere. Maybe not here, but somewhere. So if you are here, can we talk? I know you were at the graveyard last night. You saw what attacked Isaac and ... you're not here, are you?"

As soon as I stopped talking, I heard movement upstairs. Taking the stairs slowly, I whined,"Seriously? You're making me walk up the stairs? That's just mean."

Halfway up, I paused mid-step. It was true that Derek had a flair for drama, but something was off. Derek would have shown himself as soon as I had entered the house, if not before. He certainly wouldn't drag it out.

Listening, I heard the movement upstairs stop. A second later, I heard what sounded like a doorknob turning. The soft sound spiked the anxiety inside me, letting me know that something was most definitely wrong.

In my pocket, my phone buzzed and I slapped a hand against my coat. Grasping my phone in one hand, I read the message on my screen.

_Run - D._

Not thinking twice, I took Derek's order and spun around, sprinting down the steps. As a last thought, I slowed on the porch and slammed the door closed behind myself.

As I disappeared through the trees, I swore that I heard two different growls, but didn't dare look back. I ran until I reached my car, and jumped inside, locking the doors behind myself.

Grabbing the steering wheel, I bent my head and allowed myself to catch my breath. I reached for my phone, breathing heavily through my nose as I typed.

_Meet me after Kate's funeral. I need to talk to you. Be careful._

* * *

><p>Tossing my phone into the passenger seat, I revved the engine of my car, and assured myself that Derek could handle whatever he was now facing.<p>

"Where have you been?" Mom asked as I passed by the living room.

"Traffic." I answered quickly, making a beeline for the stairs. "I have to get ready for Kate's funeral."

Once I reached my room, I let out a breath and pushed my hair from my face. Stripping off my clothes, I pulled on a plain black skater dress and black tights. Adding dark red lipstick to my previously applied makeup, I hurried around my room, placing everything I might need into a matching dark red clutch.

Grabbing my hairbrush off of the nightstand, I styled my hair into a low bun, curling two strands with my fingers, and letting them fall in front to frame my face.

Black ankle boots completed the look, and within twenty minutes of returning home, I was leaving again.

I hadn't put much thought into what I should have expected at the graveyard. I knew there would be some sort of media presence, but I hadn't been prepared for the sheer number of unfamiliar faces. News crews were up front, battling the newspaper photographers for the best shots, whilst outraged civilians yelled and pushed, sickened by Kate's crime some years prior.

Having no desire to push through the crowd, I simply observed for a moment. The familiar uniforms relaxed me a bit, and I trusted that the Sheriff's department had everything under control.

Sheriff Stilinski spotted me, and began to make his way over. I moved towards the makeshift barriers, biting on my tongue to keep myself from shooting some kind of sarcastic remark to the people that were yelling things.

"Hey, get out of the way!" The Sheriff called, waving his hand in order to tell some of the crowd to part,"Let her through."

Once I reached him, the man quickly put his hand protectively on my back, steering me away from the angered citizens.

"Do they have to be so rough?" I scoffed, allowing him to lead me towards the gathering of Argents.

The Sheriff hummed in agreement, before stopping me,"How're you holding up, kid?"

I sighed,"I've been better. Any word on Lydia?"

The look that flashed in his eyes told me the answer, and I tried my best to muster a smile,"You'll find her."

The Sheriff smiled back, giving my shoulder a squeeze before returning to control the crowd.

I hesitated before taking another few steps towards Allison. As soon as she saw me, she was up and moving to hug me. I rubbed her back soothingly, much like my own mother had when I was upset as a little girl, and smiled sadly when I heard my friend sniffle.

"You're okay." I promised, pulling back. "We're gonna get you through this."

Allison nodded, wiping her eyes and standing up a little straighter. Turning my attention towards her parents, I avoided her father's eyes as I offered my condolences.

I chatted briefly with her mother, commenting politely on the lovely choice of floral arrangements, before some more family members arrived. Stepping off to the side, I stood quietly until eventually, as expected, Chris came to stand beside me.

Neither of us looked at each other, occasionally offering polite smiles whenever anyone glanced in our direction.

As he opened his mouth to speak, I spoke first.

"I know what you're going to say."

"What's that?" Chris asked.

"It's risky for me to be here given the fact that the place is crawling with werewolf hunters, and then something about Scott, maybe even something about Lydia -" I rambled until he spoke. What he said surprised me.

"I was gonna thank you for being here for my daughter." Chris says. "Given your history with... with Kate, and considering where your allegiances lie, I was surprised when Allison told us you were coming."

"My allegiances lie with my _friends_." I started, finally turning to look at him, and waiting until he too looked at me before I spoke again. "With Derek Hale, and Scott... and with Allison. Besides, look at this place. It's a mob. I wasn't about to let her get thrown to the wolves."

Realizing the unintentional pun, I froze, flushing,"Oh my God, that was not planned. No pun intended, I swear. I just meant, the whole media thing, and family, and it's an expression and why - why am I still talking?"

Apparently my obvious embarrassment was a point of amusement for the man, as Chris again shocked me by cracking a smile.

"I'm glad she has you."

Clamping my mouth shut, I managed a soft smile before he excused himself. I watched him walk back towards his wife, and caught Allison's eye. She had been watching our exchange, shoulders tense until I nodded quickly at her, telling her it was fine.

Her worried eyes turned towards a strange man who had just spoken to her. I peered at the man, instantly feeling my defenses rise up and lock into place. He was dressed immaculately, his posture rigid.

I looked around, guaging everyone else's reaction to the man. It reminded me of the time in elementary school, when the principal would walk into class and everyone would freeze, because it was the scary principal, and everyone knew the principal was in charge.

There were two men standing slightly off to the side, resembling bodyguards with their hands clasped in front of them, and their eyes sweeping the grounds.

I realized then, that they probably were bodyguards.

Allison was clearly uncomfortable and I moved without realizing. I stopped just behind Mr. Argent, a respectful but smart distance.

Still, the movement must have caught the man's attention as he instantly turned to look at me. When his eyes hit me, I indulged the surprising urge to shy away, and avert my eyes.

Once I did, I caught a flash of movement behind a headstone. Scott and Stiles, I realized with relief. Shaking my head, I made a mental note to tease them about their hiding spot later.

A spark of defiance shot up within me once I realized what I had done. There was an air of intimidation around the man which had caused everyone else to stand to attention. But this man didn't intimidate me, and I wasn't about to let him think he did.

So I looked back. I met his eyes, and held his gaze with a stoic expression. He tilted his head at me, almost as though he was sizing me up, and my eyes instinctively narrowed.

Then, a smile appeared on his face. Meant to appear genuine, though the strange gleam in his eyes told me otherwise, and I didn't even bother to try and smile back.

"And who might this be? Don't tell my I have another granddaughter I don't know about."

"Uh, this is Olivia. She's my friend." Allison introduced, her voice light but shaky. "Olivia, this is Gerard. He's my grandfather. Dad's side."

The man extended his hand for me to shake, and I took it, shaking it more firmly than he clearly expected.

"I'm sorry for your loss." I spoke clearly.

"So am I."

I bit the inside of my lip, a spiteful part of myself wanting to comment on how, for a man who had just lost a daughter, he didn't seem very torn up about it. Even if her casket was only a few steps away.

I was saved from any more conversation with this man as soon as the priest called for everyone to take a seat. I gave Allison one last comforting smile before making my way to an empty seat in the middle row. Settling myself in for a long ceremony, I couldn't get the feel of Gerard's eyes off of me. 

* * *

><p>The burial went faster than expected, and I was thankful when Allison pulled me towards a few of her cousins. They were much easier to talk to, and I even found myself laughing. I was glad to see Allison laughing too, though we both halted when my phone buzzed.<p>

"It's Scott." I whispered, moving closer to the girl so that she too could read the text.

The text explained that there had been an attack on an ambulance a little ways down the road. Stiles was going to meet me there. The text ended with three worrying words.

_Could be Lydia._

"Go."

I glanced up at Allison,"But -"

"Olivia, one of us can leave the graveyard right now, and we both know it isn't me. _If_ it's Lydia, she's going to need at least one of us. Go."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" I asked, and Allison nodded, wrapping her arms around me in a hug.

"I'll be fine. Thank you for coming. And tell Scott and Stiles thank you too, okay?"

"I will. Good luck." I said in parting, and excused myself from the funeral.

On my way back to my car, I nearly ran straight into Gerard. I avoided him by pressing my phone to my ear, as though I was answering a phone call.

Grimacing once I made it to my car, I finally allowed myself to shudder. There were creepy old dudes, and then there was Gerard Argent.

Reversing out of my parking space, I took a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for what I was about to witness. 

* * *

><p>I parked a little ways down the road, using the cover of the trees to mask my car. I weaved in and out around the trees, breathing a sigh of relief when I caught sight of Stiles, hiding behind a small incline of earth.<p>

"Hey," I whispered, dropping down beside him, avoiding letting my eyes drift towards the ambulance. Officers littered the area, as well as police cruisers. I could hear Sheriff Stilinski's voice from where we were crouched low.

"Where's Scott?"

"He caught a scent."

"Lydia's?"

"We're not sure." Stiles sighed, running a hand over his head.

"It's not her."

My head whipped around so fast that a sharp stab of pain ran up my neck. I winced, rubbing the spot briefly before standing and rushing over to Derek.

I threw my arms around his neck in relief, surprising all three of us by my actions.

Still, I felt his hand come up to rub my back. It was then that this words registered, and I avoided the twitching of Stiles's jaw as I broke the hug.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"It's not Lydia." Derek said,"The werewolf doing all of this, is an Omega. And a man."

"_Another_ werewolf?" Stiles questioned with a soft whine.

"Probably just passing through from another town." Derek explained.

"And leaving a trail of destruction in his wake." I mumbled, and then motioned towards the ambulance,"And bodies."

"He was almost leaving _your_ body behind." Derek's tone was disapproving, and I sheepishly looked away.

"How was I supposed to know there'd be an Omega in your house?"

"In your ..." Stiles trailed off, and when he spoke again, he was clearly frustrated with me. "You went to his _house_?!"

"I told you I was going to talk to him!" I exclaimed defensively,"I just neglected to tell you the rest of my plan."

Stiles scoffed, rolling his eyes at me. Groaning dramatically, I waved him off,"Oh yes, okay, Olivia does dumb, semi-dangerous things, we know this already! This behavior shouldn't surprise you."

"It _doesn't_!" Stiles waved his arms around,"That's the problem!"

"It's not like I died! I'm perfectly fine!"

"Only because I happened to be around." Derek pointed out dryly, and I shushed him.

"Whose side are you on?"

Derek cracked a smirk before glancing at Stiles,"You said Scott was chasing this guy?"

"Just left."

Derek nodded swiftly, and disappeared two seconds later. Leaving me alone with an angry Stiles.

"I didn't tell you because you wouldn't have let me go." I tried,"Which is stupid, because I'm my own person."

"Yes, you are. It's not that I wouldn't have let you go. I know that you're going to do whatever you decide to do." Stiles sighed. "Trust me, I know that getting in your way when you decide to do something is dangerous. You should have at least told us. What if Derek wasn't there today? Do you even realize what could have happened?"

"Yes, Stiles, I do." I stated firmly. "Okay, I know first hand what could have happened. But it didn't! Nothing happened."

"But it could have -"

"But it_ didn't_." I took a step towards him,"I didn't know he was going to be there. I didn't even know he _existed_. I should have told you, or Scott, and I'm sorry I didn't, but I can't change that now. So can we please stop focusing on things that can't be changed and instead of focusing on what this means?"

I glanced towards the crime scene quickly,"Lydia didn't do any of this. We haven't heard from her in nearly 24 hours. That's 24 hours of running around God knows where, in the freezing cold. It means that she could have been running around the woods whilst... whilst that other werewolf was lurking."

Sudden fear hit me, and I felt my eyes widen,"Oh my God, what if he got to her? What if she's hurt? Or worse? What if -"

"Hey, hey." Stiles reached out and placed his hands on my face,"You're panicking."

"A little bit, yeah." I gasped,"Not panic-attack level panicking, but panicking. What if we don't find her?"

"We will."

"But how can you be so sure?"

"Because it's _Lydia_. The whole town is looking for her, but the whole town don't have werewolves on their side. They're not as close to her as we are. We're not going to stop looking until we find her." Stiles promised me,"Besides, I'll bet she's perfectly fine. It's Lydia, right? Certified secret genius. She's going to be okay. And she needs you to be okay too."

Nodding slowly, I listened to him speak until I felt my heartbeat reduce speed, slowing to its normal pace. A small laugh escaped me, though it sounded suspiciously like a sob.

"Of all the times to nearly have a panic attack, I have one when I'm perfectly safe."

"We don't choose the panic attack, the panic attacks choose us." Stiles mumbled, making me chuckle.

"Oh, never has there been a truer statement."

Stiles smiled, stroking his thumb over my cheek, and clearing a way a tear that had slipped from my eye. Now that the panic had dulled, I finally became aware of his hand on my face. My cheeks heated up under his palm, and if he noticed, he didn't say anything.

Instead he moved his hand towards the back of my head, and pulled me to him. His other hand came up to wrap around my shoulders, and I melted into the hug, reveling in the comforting gesture.

I wound my arms around his back, leaning my forehead into his chest and smiling when I felt his chin bump against the top of my head.

And that was how Sheriff Stilinski found us.

"Stiles?" He called, his tone sounding more tired than surprised.

Stiles pulled back, though surprised me by keeping an arm around me,"Oh, hey daddy-o! There's a perfectly reasonable explanation to why I happen to be here."

"Let me guess; you heard the report come in and you're too curious for your own good?"

Despite the brief bit of irritation on the Sheriff's face, I couldn't help but grin as Stiles let out a puff of air in the form of a chuckle.

"That would be the reason I mentioned."

"And Olivia?" The Sheriff called, his voice more disappointed than frustrated.

"Would you believe me if I said it was a coincidence?"

"No."

"Then I won't say that." I cleared my throat, searching my brain for an excuse.

"I brought her here." Stiles covered, earning a raised eyebrow,"We're uh... on a date."

"What?" The Sheriff asked, looking surprisingly pleased.

"_What_?" I echoed, tossing Stiles a dark look even as my cheeks flamed.

"Eh, yeah." Coughed Stiles,"I mean, we're going on one. I thought it would be cool to stop by here first. Because I'm strange. And curious."

"Oh believe me, I know." The Sheriff's expression was pained, and I again had to keep myself from grinning.

Instead, I finally allowed myself to look at the ambulance. I expected myself to be nauseated at the amount of blood, but instead only felt disturbed. I counted that as progress.

"What happened here?" I asked lightly, turning on the doe eyes.

"Well," The Sheriff sighed. "They were transporting a heart attack victim to the hospital when they got hit. The driver was able to call for help. The victim... well, C.O.D. is definitely not a heart attack."

As he spoke, the Sheriff began walking towards the ambulance. We followed along after him, listening to him and taking in the scene.

"How did it happen?" Stiles asked, causing his father to turn to look at him.

"Wait, you're not going to tell us? Dad, come on. Was - was it slashing? Or - or biting, maybe? Chewing?"

"Ew." I muttered, glancing away from the ambulance and towards the trees. Movement caught my eye, and I squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the half-hidden shape.

"Chewing?" I heard the Sheriff echo in disgust.

"Yeah, like, nibbling. Maybe in the liver region?"

"I'm getting you a therapist."

"Guys." I caught their attention, pointing into the distance as the branches of the low trees began to part, a hand pulling them away.

When the person finally emerged, stepping into the light of the police cruisers, a relieved gasp escaped me.

"Lydia?" I whispered, my voice breaking, and not as loud as intended. Overwhelmed with relief, my voice refused to work.

"Lydia!" Stiles called out for me, his voice a lot deeper and louder than mine had been.

The startled, naked girl jumped at the sound of it, and looked up, her wide green eyes searching until they landed on us.

"Well," She began, her voice shaky but somehow strong. She extended her arms, revealing herself in the process as she stared at the surprised faces around her.

"Isn't anyone going to get me a coat?" 

* * *

><p><em>Ahh Lydia! That line always makes me laugh.<em>

_So, this chapter, as you can tell by the time it took, was slightly problematic. Not because of writer's block (though that did come into play at the beginning), but because my life has been crazy busy._

_Finding time to write was rare, but the cherry on top was how I wrote out the entire chapter today, and then... I accidentally yanked out my laptop charger. And I didn't have my laptop battery in._

_And yep, you guessed it. I hadn't saved my work._

_So I had to write it all out again, but I'm really glad that I did, because I really wanted to get this chapter out to you guys._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And I promise, the next chapter will not take as long as this one. And let's all hope I don't have anymore clumsy moments, and that I make sure to save my work every once in a while._

_Can't wait to hear from you all!_  
>-<em> Megan.<em>


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